Method of making a connector with a hard particle lining



July 6, 1954 A. J. PAUCEK 2,683,095

METHOD OF MAKING A CONNECTOR WITH A HARD PARTICLE LINING Filed June 23 1950 J2 h r Z i A'ITOR EY Patented July 6, 1954 METHOD OF MAKING A CONNECTOR WITH A HARD PARTICLE LINING Andrew J. Paucek, Flushing, N. Y., assignor to Burndy Engineering Company, Inc., a corporation of New York Application June 23, 1950, Serial No. 169,974

2 Claims. 1

rial which adheres to the coating. The wires to I be joined are insertedinto the connector sleeve and the sleeve compressed into intimate contact with the wire by any suitable tool.

In this method it is necessary to maintain the adhesive in a tacky condition until the abrasive material is applied. As the drying time of adhesives will vary according to the particular adhesive employed it is necessary to strictly regulate the method accordingly. If the adhesive is too dry an insuflicient amount of keying material remains on the inner surface of the connector sleeve. If the adhesive is too tacky the abrasive material cannot be applied uniformly. A defective connection results in both instances. The drying time of the adhesive is thus a critical consideration in carrying out this method. The thickness of the layer oi keying material cannot be varied in accordance with the diameters of the wires or cables to be joined for there is no adequate control over the thickness of the adhesive to be applied. A thick layer of adhesive would run and ball-up causing lumpiness and an unsatisfactory connection.

I have discovered a method of using adhesives for maintaining keying material within a connector for joining wires that avoids the above limitations. Accordingly it is a principal object of my invention to provide a method of making a connector of this type in which the keying material may be inserted within the connector sleeve at any time after the adhesive has been applied.

A further object of my invention is to provide a method for controlling the thickness of the adhesive to be applied.

Still another object is to provide a method'for varying the thickness of the keying material in accordance with the amount required for the diameter of the wire or cables that the connector is to accommodate.

Other objects of my invention are to provide a method wherein the keying material may be applied when the adhesive is in a dry condition; to provide a method wherein the finished connectors may be stored without being affected by aging of the adhesive; to provide a method where the hard particles may be uniformly applied to the connector; to provide a connector which will have superior mechanical characteristics; and to provide a method that is simple, inexpensive, and particularly suitable for mass production.

I accomplish these and other objects and obtain my new results as will be apparent from the device described in the following specification, particularly pointed out in the claims, and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which- Fig. 1 is a side elevation, partly in section, of a connector sleeve on which my method may be app e Fig. 2 an enlarged cross-sectional view taken in plane 2-2 of Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 an enlarged cross-sectional view of the sleeve in Fig. 2 with a coating of adhesive applied on the inner surface,

Fig. 4 a box into which the sleeves of Fig. 3 are placed on end to be filled with a keying material and then heated,

Fig. 5 an enlarged cross-sectional view of the sleeve with the coating of adhesive applied on the inner's'urface and the bore filled with a keying material, g

Fig, 6 an enlarged cross-sectional view of the sleeve-after the sleeve of Fig. 5 has been heated and the excess keying material removed, and

Fig. 7 a side elevation, partly in section, of the connector sleeve secured to a conductor.

' In the drawing reference numeral l0 designates a tubular-body or sleeve on which my invention may be practised, having a longitudinal internal bore II with end openings 12 and I3 to receive wires or cables M and I5 of a size which the sleeve is to accommodate. The sleeve l0 may be internally chamfered at It at the respective openings l2 and I3. to facilitate entrance of the cables and prevent nicking the cable and possible breakage; and chamfered on the outside as at H to prevent snagging when the connection is pulled over a cross arm'of a pole.

The first step of my novel process is to coat the bore I l with a suitable adhesive I8, such as shellac, as shown in Fig. 3. One formula for the composition of the shellac which I have found suitable for carrying out my invention is a 50-50 mixture by volume of 5 pound cut shellac and SDA #1 alcohol, with a specific gravity range of 0.885 to 0.895.

After the sleeve H] has been internally coated with the adhesive l8 and while it is wet, the excess adhesive may be removed by directing a blast of air into the sleeve. This action prevents the adhesive from "balling-up and equalizes the thickness of the coating throughout the connector. The adhesively coated sleeve is then dried for a suitable period depending on the adhesive that is used, and in this condition the sleeve may be stored'if the necessity arises.

When the adhesive H3 in the bore H of the sleeve is sufiiciently dry, hard metal particles I9, hereinafter described, are applied to the adhesive, and the adhesive softened to; cause the particles to adhere thereto. I have found'it most suitable to fill the bore I I with thehard particles I 9 and then heat the connectors to soften the ad.- hesive. In Fig. 4 I have illustrated a simple and of the process.

convenient means of carrying out this process v,

comprising a metal container-1U having an open top 21 into which a plurality of the dried adhesively coated sleeves I0 may be stacked end wise with. one end opening, 12 or l3. of the sleeve accessible through the top 2|. The bores ll of' the: sleeves are then completely filled with the hard particles 19, and the sleeves jarred to insure a firm packing.

The container and sleeves are placed into an oven and baked at a suitable temperature, depending on the adhesive used, until the adhesive softens and becomes tacky. With the above formula of'shellac, a temperature of 220 was found to be satisfactory. The container and. sleeves are removed from the oven and; cooled. and the excess particlesv removed by lifting the sleevesv out ofthe container 20 leaving apredetermined' evenly distributed coating of particles. within the bore. H retained by the. adhesive as illustrated in Fig. 6. The excess hardparticles accumulateon the bottom ofthe box andmay be reused.

The finished sleeves may thenbe used in a splice type of. connection as. illustratedin. Fig. '7,

wherein the sleeve. In is compressedto the cables, l4 and [5, with the hardened particles is impressedor keyed into. the softer surfaces of the sleeve and wiresto prevent slippage of the cables. relative to the sleeve. whenthe wires are under tension. i

The amount ofhard. particles retained by the adhesive will vary according to thethickness of the adhesive layer. Where it. is desired to increase tilQrthiQkIlESSQf the. hard particlesfor use in larger. sized connectors. where greater pull-out values maybe required, a plurality. of coatings may be appliedwithin the bore 1 l togive the. de siredresult. In-this instance it ispreferred that each adhesive coat be dried before theapplication 4 thysse, Serial No. 43,023, filed on August '7, 1948, now Patent 2,576,528. If desired the connector sleeve may be annealed prior to the application of the adhesive to make it more readily malleable.

By drying the adhesive prior to the application of the hard particles, I can. thus accurately control the thickness of the adhesive, and where necessary, vary the thickness depending on the thickness of the hard particle lining that is needed for connectors of various sizes. The sleeves maybe set. aside or stored with the dried adhesive coating without affecting the remainder By, packing the hard particles into. the dry adhesively coated sleeve and then heating the sleeves, the hard particles are applied more effectively and. emciently, insuring an even distributionof particles throughout the connector providing-e. uniform keying action when the connection is made. The method is particularly suitable. for economical mass production.

I have thus describedmy invention,.but.1"de,- sire it understood that it is not.confined'.to. the particular forms or uses shown and. described; the same being merely illustrative, and thatthe invention may be carried out in other waystwithout departing from the spirit of my invention, and, therefore, I claim broadly the right. to. employ all equivalent. instrumentalities: coming, within the scope of the appended claims,. and. by means of. which, objects of. my invention are. attained and new results accomplisheias. it is. obvious. that. the particular. embodiments herein shown and described are. only some. of. themany. that can be employed to attainthese objects and. accomplish. these. results.

I claim:

1'. The method. of manufacturingv a. connector having a metal tubular body which. comprises the stepsv of. applying an adhesive to the. inner surface of the tubular body, drying the adhesive, filling the tubular body with a plurality of hard particles, softening the adhesive to retaina; layer of hardparticles in contact therewith, and there.-

after removing the excess particles.

2. The methodof manufacturing a. connector having. a metal tubular. body which. comprises the steps of applying a' plurality of. adhesive coatings,- to the. inner surface of the tubular. body, drying each coatingto obtain an increasedthickness. of uniformly applied. adhesive. applying a plurality of hardparticles to. the inner surface of the tubular body by filling thetubular, body with hard particleasoftening the adhesive-coat.- ings with the hard particles in. contact therewith, hardening the adhesiveto retain. thehard particles, and thereafter removing. the, excess particles.

References Cited in. the fileof this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,827,297 Moore Oct. 13, 1931 2,036,439 Fritze et al. Feb. 111 1936 2,146,819 Hall Feb. 14, 1939 2,332,221 Harshberger Oct. 19, 1943 

1. THE METHOD OF MANUFACTURING A CONNECTOR HAVING A METAL TUBULAR BODY WHICH COMPRISES THE STEPS OF APPLYING AN ADHESIVE TO THE INNER SURFACE OF THE TUBULAR BODY, DRYING THE ADHESIVE, FILLING THE TUBULAR BODY WITH A PLURALITY OF HARD PARTICLES, SOFTENING THE ADHESIVE TO RETAIN A LAYER OF HARD PARTICLES IN CONTACT THEREWITH, AND THEREAFTER REMOVING THE EXCESS PARTICLES. 